U.S. Census Bureau: Don’t fall for scams, rumors about 2020 census collection

Notices will soon be sent out inviting people to fill out the 2020 census and the government is warning people not to fall for scammers pretending to work for the government or rumors with misinformation.

The roughly seven to nine questions per person questionnaire affect more than $675 billion in funding for schools, roads, hospitals and more.

People can start expecting to get a notice in the mail as of March 12, inviting them to fill out the form online.

The U.S. Census Bureau said all the answers are confidential and will not be shared with law enforcement.

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The census will not come in the form of an unsolicited email and it won’t ask for money.

"We don't ask people for their Social Security number,” said Tom Edwards, respondent advocate at the U.S. Census Bureau. “We don't ask for bank account numbers. We don't ask for credit numbers and we don't ask about political affiliation."

The government also wants people to be safe at home.

If people ignore the notices and reminders in the mail, census workers could show up where they live.

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"We'll go back five or six times knock on the door and try to get somebody to respond,” Edwards said.

The government said people should ask to see a valid ID badge to confirm a census worker’s identity.

"I'll definitely be responding,” Chicago resident Stuart Blaylock said.

Blaylock said he filled it out in 2010 and does it to make sure he is counted in the data collection.

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“They were pretty adamant the workers,” Blaylock said. “They kept checking up on you to make sure that you've done it."

"Definitely filled it out and will fill it out again this time,” Chicago resident Scott Stevens said.

Stevens said he’ll keep an eye out for any potential red flags.

“I would never give my credit card or anything like that,” Stevens said. “No bank account numbers.”

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